Machine for heading cartridge-shells



L. E. HOOKER.

' MACHiNE FOR HEADING CARTRIDGE SHELLS.

APPLICATION FILED APR.20, 1918.

Patented Dec. 28, 1920.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

L. E. HOOKER.

MACHINE FOR HEADING CARTRIDGE SHELLS.

APPLICATION FILED APR-20, 191s.

Patented Dec. 28., 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

and

LESLIE Fr. HOOKER, 01* LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS.

Application filed April 20, 1918.

T 0 aZZ whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, LnsLin E. HOOKER, a citizen of the United Fltates, residing at Lowell, in the county of hliddlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Machines for Heading Cartridge-Shells, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to machines for performing one or more operations upon cartridge shells, tubes, or otherohjects of cylindrical or polygonal outline, which objects are fed through the machines in a continuous row and require to be temporarily stopped and held accurately in predetermined positions.

While certain features of my invention are, or may be, generally applicable to machines for performing other die work, it was devised for, and will be described, in connection with a machine for heading cartridge shells and which performs threeoperations simultaneously"upon three shells. T his machine takes the shells in the condition in which "they leave an extruding machine, such as the one disclosed in my Patent No.'918,15a, issued "April 13, 1909, and gives the final shape to the heads.

The extruded tubes have rounded ends, which require to be flattened and provided with the cap pocket, andthe'shells are also given a finishing draw. Hereto fore, these operations have been performed in separate machines, in which the shells are 'fed horizontall between on ositel reci rocatin punches and-dies. ln-the presentm'achine, thethree operations are performed simultaneously on three shells, which are fed in a vertical positionand in a continuous rowhetween stationary dies and reciprocating plungers. Not only is the'work greatlyexpedited by the use or this machine, butthe floor space and power required are much reduced. 'One of the principal ditliculties encountered, which is overcome by the present invention, was to devise-'ineans for feeding the shells between the dies and punches and accurately centering them in linewith the same. The means by which-this is accomplished constitutes one'of the-main features of the present machine.

1, The machine, in itsexisting form will now he described, but it will berunderstood that,

as stated above,"the feeding and centering 'means is DOt'RfiCQSSlXllY limited inits use to thislparticula'r machine. It willbe ap- Specification of Letters Patent.

'die plate or anvilQ.

Patented lDiec. 28, 1920.

Serial No. 229,692.

' the row, and where it is necessary to accurately hold the piece being operated upon in a predetermined position.

In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 is a vertical section; and

Fig. 2 a plan of the essential parts of the machine embodying my invention;

Fig. 8is a detail section on line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of a shell as it is fed to this machine;

Figs: 5 and 6 are similar views showing the results or" the firsttwo operations;

Fig. 7 is an elevation of a shell as it appears when it leaves the machine after the third operation, and

Fig. 8 is an end view ofthe' finished head of the shell.

As actually built and as shown in the plan view, two rows oi the extruded tuhesZ-O are simultaneously fechthere being two sets of dies and pliingers, sothat'six shells are operatediupon at each descent'of the crosshead. It will be understood that the machine in its main'teatures' is an ordinary die-shaping press, the vertically reciprocating crosshead of'which carries thepunch carrying plate 1, while the dies are mounted in the stationary Plate 1 carries the punches 3, l and: 5, and plate? the dies 6, 7 and 8. 'fduspende'dbeneath the die plateby rods9'is an ejector headlO. On a level with "the top of the die plate'Q is a raceway 11 through which the shells 20 are fed to the dies by means of a pusher "12, reciprocated by a cam B and spring 1%,the shells being "supplied in front of said pusher by any suitable ieeding'means. As'stated, in the actual machine, there are two sets of punches and dies and two raceways a'ndpushers' but as they are duplicates, it will besutlicient to describe. one set only.

Punch 3 and die-6 perform the first operation of flattening the head and "partially forming the cap pocket 21; see Fig. 5. Punch 4: and die 7 perform the second operation oi finishingthe cap pocket'r22, see Figs. 6 and 7, and stamping *l'ettersor marks on the head, see Fig. 8. Finally, punch 5 forces the shell through the drawingdie 8, which slightly reduces it'rin diameter and elongates it; The shells have otcourse to be ejected V shell heading machine, consists in the conor raised out of dies 6 and 7, in order to move onward in the raceway, and this is done by the ejector head '10, which is provided on top with a knockout plate 15, sup ported on springs 16. Said plate encounters, shortly before arriving at the top of its stroke, the plugs 17, on which rest pins 18, 18, the upper ends of which bear against the movable members 19 of said dies.

Another feature of the present invention, and one which is applicable to any cartridge structionof the heading dies, each of which comprises the member 1.9. in the first die,

said member, which is known as bunter, is a solid flanged block, provided on its active face with a central projection 31, which forms the depression 21., or the rudimentary pocket for the primer. In the second die, the member 19 is bored through for the re ception of the hunter pin 32, which completes the primer pocket 22, while the annular face of this member 19 stamps the lettering on the head of the shell. Both members 19 are slidable in their die blocks to eject the shells.

Heretofore in shell heading machines, both the heading dies have been integral structures, and the primer pocket was made of full depth at the first operation. Difiiculty was encountered in accurately centering the hunter pin oi the second die so that it would exactly enter the pocket, which its function was to complete. The integral die and bunter pin were made in a hydraulic press, which also formed the lettering on the die. In the operation of hardening the pin sometimes got out of true and was not practicable to subsequently grind it true without defacing the lettering. The consequence was that the pins often broke off at their juncture with the dies. By making the pin of the second die a separate piece, it can be accurately centered and trued and, as the first hunter merely makes a slight depression in the head of the shell, the edge of. which-is chamfered or beveled, the danger of breaking off the pin is entirely obviated.

To accurately locate and hold the shells in position for the punches to force them into the dies, I mount on the die plate two vertical plates 25, the space between which forms a continuation of the raceway 11. Each sockets. The balls are held normally by the springs, partially projecting from the mouths of the sockets and are caused to re cede when the line of shells is fed forward by the pusher 12. The sockets in each row are separated by a distance substantially equal to the diameter of the shells, and are so located that one of the row oi. shells is always held exactly in line with each die. At each forward impulse of the pusher, each shell snaps over the nearest balls and comes to rest in the adjacent space. It will be seen that this device provides a very simple, practically indestructible and yet extremely accurate spacing and centering means for the shells.

The operation has been sufiiciently described in the course of the above description, it is believed. in the upward movement of the crosshead, the shells in dies 6 and 7 are lifted v )late 15 with a uick i ieldin blow into line with the row of sh lls and then the pusher moves the row forwardly, bringing other shells into line with th dies. In its downward stroke, three shells (or six in the actual machine) are operated upon as described, those in dies 8 being driven through and falling into a suitable receptacle.

that I claim is 1. In a machine for heading cartridgeshells or the like, the combination with a plurality of alined dies and cooperating punches, of a guideway'for the shells adjacent to said dies, means to feed a column of shells intermittently along said guideway, and spring-pressed means in the sides of the same to center the shells successively in said dies. 7 j

2. In a machine for heading cartridge shells or the like, the combination with a plurality of alined dies and cot -perating punch s, of a guideway for the shells adjacent to said dies, means to feed a column of shells iute'mittently along said guideway, spring-pressed means in the sides of the same to center the shells successively in said dies, and means to return the shells into said guideway from said. dies.

3. In a machine i'or heading cartridgeshells or the like, the combination with a plurality ot'alined dies and cooperating punches, of a guideway for the shells adj acent to said dies, the inner sides of said guideway having alined sockets with restricted Y mouths, balls in said sockets, springs to normally maintain said balls partially pro ectrug from the mouths of said sockets, the

sockets being so spaced longitudinally oi. the

guideway as to accurately center the shells successively in said dies, and means to return the shells into the guideway from each die except the last.

4.111 a machine for heading cartridgeshells or the like. the combination of a die for forming a rudimentary cap pocket in the pressed means to hold a shell in alinement with each of said dies while the punches are operating on the same.

5. In a press for acting on objects in dies, the combination with the latter, of a guide- Way to conduct the objects into alinement with the dies, and means to intermittently feed a row of the objects through said guideway, the inner faces of said guideway being provided with two rows of alined sockets, those in each row being spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the diameter of the objects and the mouths of said sockets being slightly contracted, a ball in each socket of slightly greater diameter than the mouth of the same, and a spring in each socket behind said ball.

6. In a machine for shaping the heads of cartridge-shells or the like, the combination with a plurality of alined dies and their cooperating punches, of means to feed shells in a row to said dies, yielding means to automatically center the shells in front of the latter while the punches are operating, and means to eject the shells from the dies to permit them to be fed to the next succeeding die.

7. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a guideway for the work pieces, comprising parallel walls having two rows of equally spaced sockets opening in the inner faces of said walls, spring-pressed spacers in said sockets, and means to feed a row of work pieces intermittently through said guideway, whereby said pieces are temporarily held accurately in predetermined positions.

8. A feeding mechanism for presses, com prising a guideway having parallel walls to receive a row of work pieces, means to move said row forwardly step by step, and a row of spring-pressed catches projecting from the inner faces of said walls, said catches being so spaced as to accurately position each work piece successively.

9. In a machine for finishing the heads of cartridge-shells made from extruded tubes, the combination with two dies for acting on the heads and one drawing die, of cooperating reciprocating punches, a raceway in which the tubes are placed in a row, a reciproeatory pusher in the rear end of said raceway, spring-pressed spacers projecting into that part of said raceway over said dies, movable headers in said heading dies, ejector pins beneath said headers, and means connected to the punches for actuating said ejectors near the end of the upstroke of said punches.

10. The combination of a plurality of alined dies and cooperating punches, a guideway for the work pieces, above said dies, means to feed a row of work pieces through said guideway intermittently, spring-pressed balls projecting into said guideway so located as to hold each piece successively over each die, and means to return the work pieces from said dies into said guideway.

11. The combination with a die and plunger, of means to feed objects successively between and into line with the same and hold them during the operation, comprising a raceway in which a row of the objects are placed, means to move said row step by step, and spring-pressed catches in the sides of said raceway, spaced to engage between each adjacent pair of objects.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

LESLIE E. HOOKER. 

